The Last Battle
This is the finale episode of Vale, season 5. (Also the 50th episode of Vale in total! Wow, can't believe we made it this far. Thank you so much to anyone who's read this: you are everything to me.) Written by Rainy. Read, enjoy, & comment! '' '' This finale is dedicated to my beautiful cousin, Sea. Thank you for your support & friendship. <3 ''The Last Battle'' "Are we there yet?" Josh asked for what Ryan thought had to be the hundredth time. "Yes, we are there," Lily said sharply. "Just over that hill lies the SpringClan border. So what are we still doing here?" she asked, turning towards Ryan. He didn't answer her. He felt like something was squeezing his chest, strangling away his ability to talk or even think properly. The SpringClan border, past the hill. Breezeflight, past the border. A progression of events he didn't know if he could handle. How could he explain to them that after getting this far, he was terrified of the end of their journey? "Dude," said Josh. "We're wasting time." You've come this far, Ryan told himself. You've got to see this through, for better or for worse. "Let's go," he whispered. - - - - Five cats today had told me I needed to control my anger. Specklenose, Dewstar, Goldenburst, Minkears, and Fire, in that order, and with increasing amounts of exasperation. Dewstar had taken me aside and asked me, in as kind words as he could, to refrain from attending the event tonight until I found myself "in a better frame of mind". Okay, he didn't say it quite like that. He was trying to help me, trying to make sure that I could handle things without cracking. But seeing as the event he referred to was a double vigil for Cranelegs and Cloverflower, I was seriously considering passing it up entirely. Other than me, the camp was completely empty now. Even little Owlkit and Vixenkit were at the vigil. And me? I was sitting in the middle of the silence, but I was loud. The blood thrumming in my ears was a roar. My heart pumped faster and faster, till my pulse shook my entire body. I was so angry. Rage was like fire in every part of my body. A fire that I would use to burn everything in my path before I let it consume me and turn me to ashes as well. Fine, that was a little extreme. I knew that I should've gone to the vigil, instead of sitting here storming in my own thoughts. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. Two cats, dead. Because of their kindness, because they had taken in two kits in desperate need of a family--a family they had now lost for good. And Poolpaw and Petalpaw had lost their parents. Their parents had been murdered. You know who else was a murderer? Me. My knees buckled with the weight of it all. I had killed a cat who killed another cat. What did that make me? An avenger? Like Duskwatcher? I taunted myself.'' You think you're justified?'' I didn't even know the name of the GreenClan cat I'd killed. I didn't know where we'd buried him after Dewstar had some warriors remove his body from the nursery, or if we even had done so. I was really tempted to not care, actually. He had killed Cloverflower in cold blood, and I knew he would have turned and killed Owlkit and Vixenkit if I hadn't sprung on him the second I did. I didn't regret what I'd done. I had no choice. But I couldn't let that dark side of me pretend it was right. The instant I decided that killing was perfectly okay, I'd become... I didn't know what. A cat who wasn't Breezeflight. Besides, killing didn't fix anything. Cloverflower and Cranelegs were still dead. Blossomleaf was utterly distraught. Though Cloverflower was still breathing when I'd called the medicine cats over to the nursery, we all knew she was too far gone; she had lost too much blood already. She died shortly after. Blossomleaf and Lionpatch had done everything they could to save Cranelegs from his battle injuries, desperate to ensure Poolpaw and Petalpaw wouldn't be orphaned over the course of two days. For a little while, it had seemed that Cranelegs had a chance of recovery. But this evening, a grief-stricken, half-hysterical Blossomleaf had stumbled out of the medicine cat's den and announced that he had succumbed to his injuries without ever regaining consciousness. "At least he won't find out about Cloverflower till he wakes beside her in StarClan," she said as she sobbed into my coat. "They barely were separated." Now, I shut my eyes tightly, as if to block out the memory of her grief. As if by doing so, I could somehow silence my own. "Breezeflight." I reopened my eyes, jumping at the sound of a cat's voice; I'd been sure I was all alone. In the shadows by the camp entrance, something moved. A second later, Bluebird appeared; he must have left the vigil early. "What are you doing back here?" "I thought you could use someone. I'm sure Cranelegs and Cloverflower wouldn't have minded. We respect the dead by preserving the living." He sat beside me. "Are you okay?" I must've looked surprised, because he said, "I know, you probably expected Minkears or Specklenose. But I'm the one who knows how this feels, remember?" "Duskwatcher," I said, feeling like an idiot. He had been forced to kill his own brother. Who was I to complain? But Bluebird didn't look resentful. He nodded at me. "At first I felt like I ripped myself apart when I killed him, and that a dark fog slipped into me through the cracks and tears left behind from that disaster. But now that more time has passed, I'm beginning to realize that the darkness was always inside me. It was a sleeping monster, but it was always there, just beneath the surface. This is the first time I've confronted it directly, face-to-face, and it scared me witless." He gave a humorless laugh. "How sad is that? It's not the guilt and grief that's eating me anymore--it's fear of who I am." "Exactly," I said. "That's exactly it." I took a deep breath. "Makes you wonder. Are we all capable of that much evil?" "Evil like murder?" Bluebird thought for a minute. "Yeah. Every one of us." "We're all monsters." "No, but we all have them. Monsters, ghosts, dark places we go to and dark places we can't bear going to." He tilted his head so he was looking upward. "Do you think Duskwatcher's in StarClan?" I wanted to make him smile. I wanted to say yes. I really did. But I'd never been any good at comforting others. "I have no idea," I said. For a moment, Bluebird's face was a mask of anguish, regret, and longing. Then he seemed to steel himself, tearing his eyes from the silent skies. "I'll find out much later. Not quite done with my time on Earth. Someday I'll be the stars, but for now this planet of dust and blood and bone and broken things is home." I nodded. I understood. StarClan held so many loved ones for me: my parents, Fuzzears, Oakstar, Daisyheart. But I knew that the promise of a forever someday would have to be enough. Today was for me to make the best of, so that when someday came, I would leave behind a world better than the one they had left. "You should tell Minkears how you feel, you know," I blurted. Weird situation. Me and my apprenticehood crush, sitting side-by-side under the stars, reminiscing about how we'd both murdered people. My relationship with Bluebird had changed. I wasn't infatuated with him--but I also didn't pity him as Duskwatcher's brother. He had proved he was so much more than he had been moons ago. More than that, by spending tonight with me, he had permanently linked us as friends. He looked at me incredulously, his expression changing from surprise to denial to resignation in three seconds flat. "She knows," he said, shrugging. "She knows how I feel. If she wants to say anything, she will." "Are you kidding? This is Minkears we're talking about. No she won't." "She's my best friend. She's the best thing I've got. I'm not going to let anything change that." Deciding that now was not the best time to continue with love advice, I said, "Do you think I should go to the vigil?" "No. I think you should get some sleep. The sun comes out tomorrow." The sun, in fact, did not come out. The day was overcast and dreary, the sky filled with dark gray clouds. The mood in SpringClan echoed this gloominess. Dewstar managed to make things look fairly normal from the outside looking in. Patrols went out. Apprentices trained--Brightpaw and I went out for some fight practice with Gorsepaw, as he had no mentor in SpringClan. We hunted, talked, and pretended like our hearts weren't broken. Hollystrike moved into the nursery, having volunteered to care for her sister's kits. Lionpatch and Blossomleaf set to work coming up with an alternative diet to feed the kits on, because there was no queen to nurse them. Around midafternoon, I could hear Owlkit screeching in protest of the new food from all the way across the camp. Like the clouds building ominously in the sky, I sensed a different kind of storm coming. Not in Dewstar's calm, assuring voice, but in the depths of his green eyes. Not in Poolpaw and Petalpaw's soft, sad faces, but in the quiet resolve with which they trained. Not on the outside, but on the inside. When Dewstar approached me that evening with his jaw set sharply enough to cut ice, I knew what was coming. I stood in anticipation, digging my claws into the ground. "You're assembling a battle patrol." "Do you think I'm wrong in doing so?" he asked, concern replacing the stony mask he was wearing for a split second. "No. We are warriors." He gave me a satisfied nod, as if I'd pleased him but at the same time said what he'd expected me to say. "Goldenburst is leading one patrol, and I'm leading the other. He's taking Specklenose, Fire, Thistleblossom, and Eveningfall." "So can I be on your patrol? Because you know I'm not staying behind." He grinned. "I guessed as much. Of course you can. I think we'll take Minkears, Bluebird, and Nighthawk as well. I've appointed Cammy and Cherrynose as guards of the camp while we're gone. You tracked GreenClan and found the Life-Rock, right? Do you think you could lead us in their tracks again?" I repressed a shudder as my mind crowded with images of the collapsing tunnel, of bones sticking out of the ground in gruesomely jagged spires, of feeling like I was going to suffocate to death in a cloud of brambles. Steeling myself, I faced Dewstar and said without a hint of hesitation, "Of course I can." You collapsed that tunnel, I told myself. You'll never have to go back there again. Yes, there was still the underground chamber that Bluebird and Minkears had found, the one that branched into many other sections through which we guessed GreenClan had escaped from. But I couldn't let myself think about going underground again now. I needed to be strong, and if that meant lying to myself, well, then I'd do it. Dewstar now raised his voice so the rest of the Clan could hear him. "Battle patrols, assemble behind your leaders. The camp is on lockdown while we are away. No one may leave or enter, and Chamomile and Cherrynose will be enforcing those rules." Amidst the noise and bustle that followed this announcement, as cats scrambled to get to their positions or exchange farewells with friends, I heard Poolpaw and Petalpaw having a loud argument with their mentors. "You can't go with the battle patrols, Poolpaw," cried an exasperated Cherrynose. "Neither of you can. No apprentices are allowed on this mission. It's too dangerous." The part about no apprentices might not have been true originally. Dewstar and Goldenburst had seriously discussed bringing Gorsepaw along, because he might know some helpful things about his old Clan that could help us in fighting them. But too many cats were uneasy about trusting him to not side against us, even though he had permanently shattered any chance of going back to GreenClan when he chose our side; Viperstar was not the forgiving type. "My mentor is going!" declared Petalpaw. "Why can't Eveningfall take me?" "It's not safe," Eveningfall said firmly. "And Cherrynose is guarding the camp, so don't you dare try to sneak out." Poolpaw's face crumpled with despair. "They killed our parents," she whimpered. "Don't you get it? We have to do this. We have to avenge them, or we'll never be able to get over this." Sympathy clouded Eveningfall's face as she glanced towards her own kits, Brightpaw, Sleepypaw, and Flowerpaw. "Cloverflower and Cranelegs wouldn't want you to risk your lives," she said. "Why don't you go to the nursery and help Hollystrike with Owlkit and Vixenkit?" When Poolpaw and Petalpaw remained disconsolate, she added softly, "The cat who killed your parents is already dead." I winced upon hearing this, staring down at my own claws. "Killing more GreenClan cats isn't going to give you peace." I watched Poolpaw and Petalpaw, shoulders slumped, walk back to the nursery, and turned towards Dewstar with my mouth open to ask a question. He shook his head and said before I could get it out, "Cherrynose is right, Breezeflight. It's too dangerous for them." He was making the right choice, I knew. But that didn't stop me from thinking. I knew what it was like to be an orphan. My parents had been killed by disease, but if they had been murdered by a cat, and I had a chance to avenge them, I knew I would do whatever it took. Dewstar, kind and caring as he was, could never understand that. "Minkears, Fire, Bluebird and Breezeflight will lead the patrols," Dewstar announced. "They've tracked GreenClan before and know the direction to head in." The patrols began to move out. I and my three friends moved towards the front, striking out towards SpringClan's western border. When we reached it, nearly every cat in the patrol balked. I stepped over the border and glanced back at them. "Come on," I said. "Out of our territory? That's dangerous," said Eveningfall doubtfully. "It'd be more dangerous if GreenClan was in our territory," pointed out Minkears in a reasonable tone. No one looked too happy about it, but there were no more complaints as the rest of the patrols crossed the border. The stubby grass that covered the hilly region beyond the western edge of SpringClan's territory had disappeared, cloaked under a heavy blanket of white snow. We stood out starkly against the blank landscape, and I knew it made the others nervous to have no cover. We were all fidgety, but I noticed Goldenburst especially looking constantly over his shoulder, towards the gray buildings of Twolegplace in the distance. Falling back so I could walk beside him, I murmured, "I miss her too." "I'm glad she's being taken care of, but I do wish so badly that I could visit her sometimes." "Me too. Maybe someday we'll meet again." Goldenburst didn't say anything, and I regretted getting his hopes up unnecessarily. We both knew that the next time he was going to meet Ivyrose was probably going to be in StarClan. There was no way she could come back to SpringClan now, after living with Twolegs; too many questions would be asked, and it would be very hard for her to readjust. The life we lived, I was realizing more and more with each day, was a very tough one. "Whoa. What happened up there?" asked Eveningfall sharply. I looked where she was staring and gave a sheepish grin. A long, curving line of earth appeared to have just fallen away, caved in upon itself. Swiftly as possible, I and Fire explained about the tunnel to everyone. Nighthawk gave me a look of mingled admiration and pity. "That sounds horrifying. Very brave of you." I shrugged. "I'm not pretending I don't still have nightmares about it." This wasn't entirely true. My nightmare schedule was already booked with visions of rings of fire and mysterious voices, but I figured I'd made myself conspicuous enough. Minkears and Bluebird guided us to the entrance to the secret chamber they had found. "It's a circular cave with around twenty narrow tunnels branching out from all around the circumference. I'm guessing that many or all of those tunnels lead to GreenClan's hiding place," Minkears said. Thistleblossom looked at Dewstar incredulously. "Surely we're not going to go down there? We'd be mad to try to attack their base. Look how well that worked out when they tried to do it to us. It's a battle that's very hard to win. I know we must avenge Cranelegs and Cloverflower, but we can't afford to lose any more cats." Before Dewstar could respond, a shout on the horizon distracted all of us. "Sounds like someone's in trouble." "What if that someone's a GreenClan cat?" muttered Nighthawk resentfully. "Then we'll just let 'em die, right?" Ignoring this, Dewstar said, "Let's go check it out." We set off at a run towards the source of the sound. I had to admit, I was very relieved we weren't going underground. The last thing I wanted to do was face the whole of GreenClan in a bunch of tunnels where they had the obvious advantage of both numbers and knowing the terrain. Minkears nudged me as we drew closer to the place we'd heard shouts from. "Do you see those cats? They look familiar." I squinted. A gray tom with golden eyes, a golden she-cat with gray eyes. "I don't believe it. It's Ren and Saori." "What are they doing out here?" I shook my head. "Beats me." This was getting weirder and weirder by the second. Ren and Saori were back-to-back in a circle of grass, fending off six GreenClan cats. "Well, that's fair odds," growled Thistleblossom angrily. "Hey, cowards!" yelled Dewstar, gaining the attention of nearly every GreenClan cat. The brief moment of distraction was enough time for us to rush down upon them. I instantly went for a large tom who had been pummeling Saori, throwing him to the ground and biting down on his foreleg. Saori joined me in the attack. "Payback," she said through gritted teeth, spitting blood out of her mouth. Though her pelt was covered in scratches and wounds, her eyes shone with the spirit of battle. "Just in time, Breezeflight." "I try." She grunted. "So do I, but I never manage to enter quite as stylishly. Ren and I were trying to head to SpringClan when we got attacked." "Really? Why are you guys all the way out here then?" "We tried running when we saw the mange-pelts instead of fighting. As you can see, it didn't quite work out." "Why were you trying to get to SpringClan?" She shook her head, pushing me down and blocking a blow that would've plowed straight into my neck. "Thanks," I breathed as I watched her throw the GreenClan she-cat to the ground. "No problem. And I'll tell you later." "GreenClan, retreat!" yelled the she-cat, scrambling to her paws and avoiding Saori's next hit. A dappled blue-gray she-cat came running up to me as the rest of her Clanmates began running away. "Your Clan is in serious danger," she whispered. "Meet me at the western border in three nights and I'll tell you something you really need to know." I stared at her in confusion, wondering where she'd even come from. "You're GreenClan. Why are you helping me?" She just shook her head. "Once you hear what I need to tell you, you won't be asking that question. Please, you have to trust--" "Seabreeze!" roared one of the other GreenClan cats. "Come on!" She whirled around and fled. Minkears gave me a questioning look, but I shook my head, indicating I'd tell her later. "Dewstar, Ren and Saori have something they need to tell us," I said, running up to the leader. He gave me a patient stare. "I guessed that, Breezeflight, but more importantly, they are in desperate need of care." With a stab of guilt, I realized he was right. The brother and sister were in terrible shape. Ren was limping, and both were covered in blood. I opened my mouth to apologize, but Dewstar gave me a gentle look. "We'll discuss other matters later. For now, I want everyone to help the two of them back to the camp." "What about the attack on GreenClan?" demanded Nighthawk angrily. "We just fought a battle, Nighthawk, but I believe we would be very nearsighted to think that we have grasped the war yet." "What in StarClan does that mean?" "It means that I do not know the answer, so I will not pretend I do." Nighthawk rolled his eyes, but said no more. We were almost back to SpringClan territory and the shelter of the woods when a cat skidded to a stop in the snow in front of us. It only took an instant to identify her as GreenClan, and Dewstar leaped for Nighthawk just in time to hold him back. "Wise choice, not attacking me," said the GreenClan she-cat. I recognized her as the one who had nearly ripped open my neck during the fight, and immediately felt a wave of dislike crash over me. She had a pure white pelt and narrow, mean-looking blue eyes. "Now, look around your patrol and answer me this: are you all accounted for?" "We're all here, plus two," said Dewstar, nodding towards Ren and Saori. "Wrong." A sneer twisted her lips into something cruel. "You're minus two. Two apprentices--I think their names were Puddlepaw and Petalpaw?" Cold realization froze over my insides as I exchanged looks with Specklenose and Minkears, who stood on either side of me. "Surprised?" smirked the she-cat. "They sneaked out, didn't they? And we have them." "You're going to regret taking them," snarled Dewstar furiously. "Tell Viperstar that--" "I'm not telling Viperstar anything. You can tell him yourself. Meet him here in three nights, and we will negotiate. If you don't turn up, or if you try to attack us, we will kill the apprentices immediately." "What do you want from us?" cried Dewstar desperately. The white she-cat was already backing away. "You'll find out in three nights." Three nights. The blue-gray she-cat, Seabreeze, had told me to meet her in three nights. I had to go, I realized. The risk was worth it. It was more important than ever to figure out what was going on. If Seabreeze told me anything earthshaking, I could run out and tell Dewstar immediately while he was meeting with Viperstar. "Breezeflight? Are you okay?" Minkears nudged me. I nodded. "I'll tell you guys later," I whispered. "It's important." "Dewstar? What are our orders?" Goldenburst asked tentatively. Clearly distracted, Dewstar hardly seemed to hear him. "Their parents, dead. And now they themselves have been kidnapped." "We'll get them back," said Goldenburst. "We will. I'll do anything," Dewstar said decisively. "Let's get back to camp, everyone. Goldenburst, Thistleblossom, assemble a war council at my den when we reach." Patrols forgotten, we headed back into our own territory in one huge clump. Fire and Specklenose forged ahead, while Minkears, Bluebird and I lingered, taking our time, talking in quiet voices. We were discussing possible ways to get Petalpaw and Poolpaw back using force when we heard Fire exclaim from up ahead. "Whoa. Looks like this is just a day of old friends." Frowning, I stepped up my pace and saw Fire standing just outside the camp with Cammy, who had just finished telling her something. Both of them turned towards me. "Breezeflight, there's someone here," whispered Cammy, her eyes huge and brimming with emotion. "They're back." "Yeah..." I said, struggling to figure out why she was so moved by Ren and Saori's return--unless she was crying because of how beat up they were. Then the bushes framing the entrance to the camp parted, and out stepped a cat I thought I had lost for good, a cat I had spent so much time convincing myself to forget forever, a cat who, despite all the time fallen in the gap between us, made my heart stop as soon as I laid eyes on him. Ryan was back. The End Category:Vale